Tyrrell County residents should take a walk down the street in Columbia when they get a chance and welcome Liz Steiner to the community.
Steiner, is the new resident artist at Pocosin Arts.
She volunteers twenty hours a week in the office, in exchange for living quarters and use of the studios.

“It is an ideal opportunity to focus on developing and making work, and get experience working with a non-profit,” Steiner stated.

Steiner has her Masters in Fine Arts from ECU.

She explained that the ECU Metal Design graduate program is very self-directed.

“It was up to me to set my own goals. The faculty is there to guide you and help you meet those goals, as opposed to dictating what they want you to learn,” she said.

Steiner is currently working on “mixed media” pieces which combine non-traditional found objects such as rusty washers, sea shells, broken glass and even dirt, with more traditional jewelry materials like copper, sterling silver and pearls.

“I like the combination of precious and non-precious, and elevating cast away things to the status of jewelry,” she said.

Steiner explained that mixed Media is an all-inclusive term for work that doesn’t strictly adhere to traditional materials.

Mixed media can be two dimensional or three dimensional, and can be made solely out of found objects or a combination of these object and traditional materials.

“These days, nearly anything goes in terms of materials when it comes to making art, which I find very exciting,” she said.
Steiner said that many things affect the work that she makes.

“Place is certainly one of them. I find North Carolina incredibly inspiring, particularly the beaches and more recently the rivers. I’m very drawn to water, and many of the objects I’m using in my work now have been touched by water in some way,” she said.

Steiner is teaching an enameled pendant workshop as part of Pocosin Arts Friday Night Art and Wine program on June 14^th. Students will be able to choose from one of three shapes and a variety of colors and complete a pendant that they can take home that same night. No experience necessary. Cost is $35.

Steiner was also invited to be part of a group of 10 American art jewelers exhibiting at Sieraad, an international jewelry fair in Amsterdam this fall. They are a diverse group of young emerging artists and this is an excellent opportunity for us to bridge the gap between the American and European art jewelry markets. They have an online campaign to raise money to cover the cost of our booth fee on Indiegogo.com. On their campaign site there’s a video introducing each of the ten participating artists and images of our work. This group also includes Laura Wood, another ECU metals graduate. They are offering several rewards for several different levels of giving. Their campaign website is: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/send-10-american-art-jewelers-to-sieraad-in-amsterdam?c=home/